Facebook Messenger chat now available for your website

Here’s the replay of Monday 4 December’s The #SocialMediaShow which was broadcast live via my Facebook Profile from Cardiff, Wales. The big news this week is that you can now run Facebook Messenger via your website to engage with customers plus there are 33 other social media news stories covered below. Plus as usual there’s Headline, Question Time, Tools Talk plus Tip Of The Week and Number of the Week.

The #SocialMediaShow is aimed at people who work on a daily basis with or who are interested in social media and the aim is to increase your knowledge and improve your use of social media. If that sounds like you and you want to keep up on the latest news throughout the week plus get access to insider tips, then join my newsletter subscribers or Facebook Page subscribers.

Headline – The Cornish vineyard whose social media sparkles as much as its wine – Read the article from The GuardianQuestion Time – What’s your top social media prediction for 2018? Let me know in the Comments below.Top tip – If you are using Pinterest and Instagram for business then check out their business profiles. It’s a clearcut decision for Pinterest to go with a business profile but you might find you get greater reach with a personal profile on Instagram so make sure you test each option.Tools Talk:http://www.zamzar.com/ – A great free online tool for converting files.Number of the week: 800. 800 new engineering jobs are being created by Facebook in London over the next year.

FACEBOOK NEWS
1. Facebook held a Social Good Forum last week at which they announced a Mentorship and Support program that “connects people who may need support and advice to achieve their goals with people who have the expertise and experience to help”. Facebook also announced that all fees for non-profits have been eliminated, which means that 100% of donations collected via Facebook payments will go directly to those organizations plus an annual Facebook Donation Fund has been created to help communities recover from disasters.
2. Facebook is testing new Trust Indicators for publishers which will display information on their ethics policy, corrections policy, fact-checking policy and ownership structure.
3. Facebook Group cover image and Event cover sizes have changed. The size for the Group cover image is 1640 x 856 pixels but make sure you add any text to the centre area. Watch this space for confirmation of the new Event cover size and don’t forget you can add videos.
4. Facebook is testing a Save Post feature named Collections. It is similar to Instagram and allows users to save and neatly organize posts into easy-to-find folders that can be accessed later.
5. In Facebook Groups top posts are now highlighted but in addition members who have been the most “active this week” are now displayed to Admins. Their group profiles and posts are now showcased in a box at the top of the group page for Group Admins to view.
6. Facebook have rolled out video link covers for Instant Articles to “enhance the storytelling experience.”
7. Facebook is testing a tip jar/donations button in Comments on Posts on non-profits and charity Pages.
8. More Page Admins are now seeing Facebook Page Stories on their Pages.
9. Facebook is launching a program called Community Boost; a digital training and advocacy program that will visit 30 United States cities in 2018.
10. A new Facebook engineering office is opening in London today increasing its UK workforce by more than 50%. The office is located in Rathbone Place, just off Oxford Street.

FACEBOOK WORKPLACE NEWS
13. Facebook now has this content warnings on posts for Workplace.

FACEBOOK MESSENGER NEWS
14. The main news of the week is that the Facebook Messenger website plugin now widely available whereby you can add Facebook Messenger to your website to chat with clients and prospects. The plugin enables your business to have a continuous chat session, whether a user is on Facebook Messenger or your home page plus it works across all devices. You can also run your chat bot using a service like Chatfuel.com. I’ve added to intranetfuture.com so have a play to see how it works then get in touch if you’d like to implement on your website.
15. Nordea, the Nordic financial services company, have announced a fully featured bank service via Facebook Messenger.

INSTAGRAM NEWS16. Instagram users with the latest version of the iOS and Android apps can now reply to friends’ photo messages in Direct messages with an image featuring a sticker of the exact photo to which they are responding. Users can “move and resize it, and add your own twist with stickers, text, and drawings” and can send photos back and forth.
17. Senders can now set the number of times a direct messages can be viewed. Users have the option to choose “One View” to allow friends to see messages only once or “Allow Replay” to enable multiple views in an automatic loop.
18. Instagram is now testing the ability to search for and add GIFs to Instagram Stories.
19. A new archive feature for saving Instagram stories is being tested.
20 Instagram now suggests other accounts to follow in NewsFeed in a carousel format
21. As seen on Instagram Stories, quick reaction buttons have now also been added to Instagram Live Video.
22. Facebook has filed a patent for Minority Report style facial recognition to improve ‘service to visiting customers’. The idea is to scan customers’s faces for identification, emotions and intent to buy and then send appropriate texts or notifications.
23. Facebook is also testing how it could use facial recognition scanning as a security check when sending payments.
24. Some Facebook users are being asked to upload photos to gain access to regain access to their accounts after suspicious activity.

LINKEDIN NEWS
25. I’ve received a number of LinkedIn app and mobile device notifications lately when I’ve named a Contact in a meeting on my Google calendar along the lines of ‘prepare for meeting with Mr X and follow-up with Mr X.

TWITTER NEWS
26. The state of confusion and lack of direction at Twitter was illustrated by their response to the infamous 3 video retweets from @realDonaldTrump this week. 1) Twitter did not remove the retweets despite them being in clear breach of Twitter’s Hateful Conduct Policy which states – “You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin……” 2) Twitter stated that the reason the retweets were still published was because they were ‘newsworthy’ and in ‘public interest’. 3) Twitter then stated “To clarify: these videos are not being kept up because they are newsworthy or for public interest. Rather, these videos are permitted on Twitter based on our current media policy. I leave you to make up your own mind.
27. Twitter Lite is being released to 24 countries on Android.
28. Bloomberg’s new Twitter first 24-hour social news network will launch on 18 December. Learn more
29. Twitter is testing a ‘people talking about this’ feature which would replace retweets and likes.

SOCIAL ADVERTISING NEWS
31. Facebook is copying LinkedIn who have lead generation forms in InMails with Send Lead Generation Forms via Facebook Messenger.
32. Facebook is testing pre-roll ads in Watch; a rival to Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
33. There are new Facebook Dynamic Ads for Auto and Facebook Lead Ads for Auto in UK. They will provide a compelling inventory to the right audiences; driving them towards looking at the vehicle’s details and registering their contact details to hear more.

AND FINALLY:
34. Even with 26,000 retweets 67k likes it seems that #CheatingBen has got away with it and he hasn’t been found. The Twitter drama started with the following tweet on Friday:

If anyone has a boyfriend called Ben on the Bournemouth – Manchester train right now, he’s just told his friends he’s cheating on you. Dump his ass x

Questions? Need help with social media?

For more information about how we can help with your social media efforts including other social media training options please call me, Jonathan, on 029 2078 9139. Alternatively you can email, tweet or message me using the button at the bottom right of your screen.

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